It is common practice to apply labels to containers or bottles formed from polymers or glass. Such containers and bottles are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes for holding many different types of materials such as detergents, chemicals, motor oil, beverages, including juices, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, etc. The labels provide information such as the supplier of the container or the contents of the container.
Polymeric film materials and film facestocks have been described for use as labels in various fields. Polymeric labels are increasingly desired for many applications, particularly clear polymeric labels since they provide a no-label look to decorated glass and plastic containers. Paper labels block the visibility of the container and/or the contents in the container. Clear polymeric labels enhance the visual aesthetics of the container, and therefore the product, and are growing much faster than paper labels in the package decoration market as consumer product companies are continuously trying to upgrade the appearance of their products. Polymeric film labels also have superior mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and abrasion resistance.
In the bottled beverage industry, particularly the bottled beer industry, the standards to which the labels are held can be quite stringent. For example, the labeled bottles must withstand the pasteurization process. The labels must be abrasion resistant because of the demands of the bottling, packing, shipping and storage processes. The labels must also survive being immersed in ice water for extended periods of time.
In addition, the bottles used in the beverage industry are generally reused many times. The bottles must be cleaned and the labels removed prior to refilling and relabeling the bottles. Paper labels, while being generally less aesthetically desirable, are easily removed during the washing process in which the bottles are subjected to hot washing liquid such as dilute caustic soda that has been heated to 50-90° C. Because polymeric labels do not possess the water permeability of the paper labels, the polymeric labels have been found to be more difficult to completely remove with the existing washing process.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to produce polymeric film labels that can be completely removed from the bottles during the washing process, yet maintain their superior aesthetic and mechanical properties.